Game Description:Building upon the success of the original, Conduit 2 takes players to the far reaches of the world to stop an alien invasion which can be fought in single-player, online multiplayer battles, and all-new off and online co-op modes. Armed with advanced and powerful weapons, players can expect massive action in large, multi-tiered levels featuring dynamic environments, cinematic battles, giant adversaries, and deep customization features.

PAX 2010 Preview: The Conduit 2

What We Know:
The sequel to the sharp-looking Wii shooter picks up immediately after the events of the previous game. Protagonist Michael Ford emerges from the conduit he entered at the end of the last game, and finds himself on an oil derrick in an unknown location being fired upon by suspiciously well-armed guards.
What We're Seeing Now:
Trying to make a Wii equivalent to a hardcore shooter is a pretty high bar to clear, so The Conduit's problems can be forgiven. It wasn't a perfect game, but it was a promising game, an ambitious game. In other words: Ripe for a sequel. Although it's hard to tell definitively from the Conduit 2pre-Alpha level playthrough and boss battle I enjoyed at Pax 2010, Sega seems aware of the problems that plagued the first game, and is taking steps to correct them, while leaving in the things gamers liked about the first go-round.

Among the improvements of Conduit 2: Iron sights. This is a huge embettering-- you'll be able to pull up your crosshairs on screen to lock in on enemies, and counter the tendency of the Wii-controlled reticule to jump all over the screen. This makes the game feel more like a "real" shooter and less like a high tech game of Duck Hunt. The controls, overall, feel a lot more dialed-in than the controls in the first game. More intuitive and refined.

Another improvement over the original: A cover system. You'll be able to knock over tables, then hide behind them as you peak up and headshot your enemies.

Speaking of enemies, weak AI was one chief complaint from the first game -- bad guys would literally line-up to be murdered at times, or rush directly at you in opposition to all good sense. Although the AI was not complete, baddies did dive behind cover and try not to get shot. Definitely an improvement. The game's developers tell me the AI will be tweaked and improved as Conduit 2 gets closer to completion, so hoepfully we'll have enemies smart enough to be challenging when the game streets.

As for the look of the game, it's amazing. The Wii's graphics are being pushed to their limit here, but not at the expense of playability. What I saw was smooth, with no noticeable slowdown or framerate drops. It looks better than the first game, with an expanded color palate, and some impressive lighting effects.

My demo ended with a boss battle. A Leviathan rises from the ocean to attack the oil derrick where your player stands, and you must man turrets to send it back to the briny deep. Pretty typical stuff, but the sea monster looked impressive, with nice animation and a good sense of scale (that thing is big!).

Sadly, I didn't have a chance to play the game's multiplayer, although online is a big focus of the finished product.

Overall, Conduit 2 looks very promising, and may ultimately prove the must-buy game for fans of shooters who prefer the Nintendo Wii...assuming that those people actually exist.

Poor poor wii it had such promise and then a large string of crap party games and crap graphics ruined it's good name. Conduit, metroid prime 3 and trilogy, red steel 2, resident evil 4 and darkside chronicles were GREAT games. (I know re 4 isn't wii exclusive it's just my favorite platform for it) When wii hd is released game developers are gonna get a whole new outlook on motion control.

You guys at G4 are saying this now, but it comes to the review it becomes a different story. HYPE HYPE HYPE....Review time! No, really are you just trying to get me angry ? Examples of this Red Steel 2, The Conduit,etc.

High Voltage should be the example of all developers on Wii. Because of all the crap they pushed on the wii, people are convinced that games are crap or for kids, which is why games with effort like Red Steel 2 and the Conduit go unnoticed.

All they need is some promotion and this will be a great Wii game and a good selling one.

Sorry for the double post, but you might want to alter the Conduit 2 game info, G4. It's not a 1-player game like the first one was. It's going to have 4 player local splitscreen as well: both co-op invasion mode (much like Halo's Firefight) and all competitive modes. Don't mistake this for splitscreen-online though; a feature like that won't be included.

Hey, they listened! I posted a comment regarding an update like this in the PAX 2010 notice (here on the G4 website). I'm very happy that my input was taken into consideration.

Anyway, I've been anticipating this game since the credits rolled on the first one. The first one was flawed, but it had lots of potential. I really believe that the sequel is going to be a genuinely fun game. Good to see that I had a part in getting the word out.

Those pictures do not do the game justice. It is a very, very pretty Wii game and those pics make it look like an early gen PS2 game. Anyway, I enjoyed the first one despite the lackluster single player. Can't wait to jump into the sequel.

Cause they dont spend time perfecting the game. I mean Nintendo makes awesome platformers, and fps like metroid prime, and adventures like Zelda, so why cant others. Which is why i always say "its not the Wii's fault, its the developers faults"